


Drunken Revelations

by kirk_to_enterpise_15



Category: National Football League RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, M/M, Work In Progress, dont judge me too hard, first football rpf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-15 22:56:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8076124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirk_to_enterpise_15/pseuds/kirk_to_enterpise_15
Summary: Julian misses Tom.





	1. A Brooding Julian

“Tommy is throwing you off your game”, Amendola said, giving Julian a pat on the back. Julian shrugged the ridiculous comment off. “No, he’s not. Shut up”, was all he could say, trying to convince himself. He really was off his game, though. He just felt…jittery. And maybe…just maybe, not seeing Tom was making it all a little worse. He shook his head, trying to get his mind back on track. He couldn’t help the instinct to pick up his phone and scroll to Tom’s name. He slammed his fist against the lockers, startling the other players. “Fuck”, he muttered, before walking out before anyone could stop him. He needed to cool off. 

Man, did he want to break those rules. So badly. But Coach, well fuck Coach. He stared down at his phone again. Brady would be pissed off if he tried to call. He wouldn’t even answer, Julian bet. Jeez, he’s acting like a lovestruck teenager. What, he can’t survive without his quarterback for four games? That’s just sad. He was just…a friend, a teammate. Julian liked to tell himself that a lot, despite the feeling deep in his gut every time he looked at his “friend”. He pushed those thoughts out of his head.

He walked to his car, deciding to ditch the after party they were sure to have in celebration. Celebration of what, though? Another win, but at what cost? Another injured player. He shook his head, hoping Jimmy was going to be alright. Poor kid.

He drove straight home, ignoring a couple calls he got, mostly from his teammates. He went straight to the fridge when he got home and grabbed a beer, and sat on the table, a sullen look on his face. He felt like such a whiner, but he couldn’t help it. He finally answered when he saw Rob’s name appear on his phone. “Hey”, he answered, not even trying to sound cheery. He hoped it wasn’t obvious he was waiting for Tom to call. 

“Yo, heard you skipped out on the party. Where are you, man?! I wanna see your short ass!” Gronk sounded a little drunk already, no big surprise there. There was a lot of noise in the background, probably already at another party. 

“Uh, gotta get my beauty sleep, ya know”, he tried to joke. 

“Duuude, if you don’t come out me and Danny are gonna barge in your door and physically take you here”, Gronk slurred, his voice too serious for comfort.

“Come on, Rob. I’m really not in the mood”, he hung up the phone in anger. He knew he was overreacting. But hell, he felt like shit, he played like shit. He just wanted to sleep it all off or something. And wake up tomorrow, and hopefully see Tom out on that field again. Ugh. He groaned and put his hands in his head at the thought. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about him? It had been like this before the suspension too, but now the thoughts were accompanied by an even harsher ache in his chest. Alright, so maybe it wasn’t just pure friendship.

He shut the blinds before going to lie on the couch. He didn’t want to be reminded that there was still some light out there. He could use some anti-depressants these days. He turned the television on to distract him. Nothing good enough was on. He looked at his phone again, staring at it. He put it on the edge of the couch, so he would stop looking at it. And tried to pay attention to this game show that was on. He doesn’t remember how it happened, but suddenly his phone was back in his hands.

He’s not sure how long he sat there, waiting for something. Anything. A text from his quarterback…a call, anything. He didn’t want to be the only one who wanted to break the rules. He didn’t even hear them come in over the TV and his racing thoughts.

“What’re you doing sitting alone in the dark here, Minitron?” The blinds were suddenly opened, making his eyes sting. He looked up and was faced with a tipsy Gronk and a worried Amendola. He should really remember to lock his door.

“I should've known you weren't kidding”, Julian groaned, but this time he couldn’t tear his eyes off his screen. 

“We can do this the easy way or…you know what the other option is”, Danny finally spoke up, smirking as he looked over at Gronk. Gronk grinned in return, slowly making his way over to Julian.

“Okay, okay”, Edelman got off the couch before Rob could make it over. The alternative was having Rob pick him up and bring him out to the car. And he knew from personal experience that was a really tough grip to get out of.

“Atta boy!” Ground exclaimed, earning himself an eye roll from Julian. They walked out to Danny’s car, who was giving Julian a slightly concerned look. Julian tried to ignore it.

“Damn, what’s wrong with you? We won! Well, you guys…but whatever”, Gronk told him, wrapping his arm around Julian as they got to the car. “Shotgun”, was all Julian said in response, and hopped in the front seat. Once they all were in, Danny drove off, luckily still sober. The ride was short, luckily, so Danny couldn’t ask him a shit ton of questions about his mood. They arrived at Blount’s house, this huge ass mansion with a beach front view and pool and hot tub in the back. It was already filled with people, and music could be heard from the inside.

“Wow, this is what you guys dragged me off my couch. Another crazy Blount party”, Julian said, secretly a little glad for the distraction. Danny and Rob just stared at him for a second, seeming dumbfounded by the question. Julian finally cracked a tiny smile, and they both smiled back. They went to join the party and were greeted by some very loud people and happy players. There was a drink in Julian’s hand before he even had to look around for one, which he was thankful for. He downed it right off the bat, deciding that instead of wallowing in his sorrows he could drink them away, at least for the night. Before waking up feeling shitty again, but this time with a hangover. He didn’t get why people liked to do this if they were’t trying to forget something. Maybe they all were too.

He was dragged out by Danny to play beer pong. He lost, badly. “Okay, you’re losing on purpose, dude!” Danny finally couldn’t take it anymore and Edelman laughed, already tipsy from the game. 

“Sue me, I wanna get drunk”, Edelman admitted. Danny shook his head, knowing Edelman was already on his way to being drunk. “Fine, I’ll try harder”. He ended up winning, which Danny still didn’t like but was satisfied he was actually competing.

“That’s better, buddy”, Danny said, giving Julian a slap on the back. Julian grinned, and downed another beer. “You might want to slow down”. Julian just stared at Danny like he was crazy, before laughing again. Alcohol was making him laugh, didn’t his friend want him to laugh?! He decided Danny’s statement didn’t warrant a response. He doesn’t remember too much after that, like how he got to the couch. And how this girl was suddenly on top of him, kissing him. Everything felt a little fuzzy to him, but her lips felt great.

Her hands started to travel down his body, and something suddenly overcame him. He grabbed her hands and pushed them away, breaking the kiss. “What”s wrong?” She asked, a dazed look on her face. She was pretty fucked up too. “I can’t-can’t do this”, he slurred out. “Brady”, the name fell from his lips without his permission. Fuck, he wanted him so badly. Those girl’s lips felt toxic now and he just wanted to wash himself clean.

He rolled the girl off of him, feeling a little bad now. “‘M sorry”, was all he managed before getting up and walking off. He couldn’t focus on anything anymore except for Brady. He had to see him, he had to go to him. Like right now, his drunk brain supplied. His house wasn’t that far from here, honestly. He went out into the cool fresh air and started walking. Shit, so maybe he didn’t know where he was going. He fumbled for his phone and got an uber. Gronk appeared out of nowhere, as usual. He grabbed him from behind. “Where ya going?” He asked, the alcohol strong on his breath. 

“Gotta do something real im-important”, Julian answered, his breath almost squeezed out of him by Rob, who actually let him go. For once. “Shh, don’t tell anyone though. It’s a secret”, he added, as his uber pulled up. Rob looked confused for a moment, before a goofy smile appeared on his face.

“Okay”, he whispered in a conspiring voice. Julian nodded before hopping in the car.

“Where to?” the driver asked. Shit, had he not put in a return address.

“The end of the world”, Edelman answered, sitting back in his seat, finally feeling relaxed and like he had a purpose.

The car arrived in front of the familiar house and Julian stepped out. He stared up at the place, feeling intimidated all of a sudden. What if- no, he cut himself off. There are no what ifs in this scenario. Before anything else could cloud his thoughts, he stumbled to the door. He tried to door handle, but it was locked. He knocked loudly, until he finally heard footsteps. Even through his drunken haze, his heart sped up. 

The door finally opened, revealing Tom, clad in a tight grey t-shirt and sweatpants. Julian gave him a lopsided grin, heat rising to his cheeks and other places. He looked even better than the last time Julian saw him. He always looked good. “Julian, what the-“, before Tom could finish his sentence, Julian took one step toward him and stumbled. Tom caught him before he could fall on his ass. Julian was suddenly surrounded by warmth, and it felt nice. He wanted to stay like that forever. He put his head on Tom’s shoulder, chuckling at the wonder of it all. God, he was drunk. “Jesus, Jules”, Tom muttered, lifting him up a little, even though Julian was as solid as a rock.

Hearing Tom say his name did funny things to Julian’s heart. He lifted his head finally and was met with the angry eyes of the four-time Super Bowl champion. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he could have sworn there was a glint of happiness in his eyes. “I miss you”, he blurted out. A slight smile appeared on Tom’s face. Tom didn’t have time to answer. Before Julian could think more about it, he leaned in and pressed his drunken lips against Tom’s. They were softer than Julian expected, and felt so amazing pressed against his own. Tom was shocked, to say the least. He felt the usual pull he got around Julian and had trouble pulling away this time.

The kiss went on for a lot longer than either one of them thought it would. Until Tom finally broke it. They were both out of breath. Julian stared at him, looking like a little kid on Christmas for a minute. And then reality seemed to come crashing down on him. “Wh-what”, Tom couldn’t even finish the sentence. He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to say. Julian pulled away, his nerves finally getting the better of him. “Fuck”, was all he managed before running off. Tom stood there, paralyzed for a moment. “Wait, Julian!” He called after him and ran out. But he was already gone. Damn, that kid was fast. He was just as fast drunk as he was on the field. How was that possible?


	2. Awkward Hello's

Julian woke up with a raging headache, on a couch that wasn’t his own. It was Danny’s. What the hell happened? He rubbed his eyes groggily and and sat up. Danny came into the room a few moments later. “Hey there, sleeping beauty”, he smirked, taking a seat on the armrest of the couch. Danny threw him a bottle of ibuprofen that he so desperately needed.

“Thanks, man. What..what am I doing here?” He said, popping the pills in his mouth, grateful for the water bottle on the table. Danny really was the best.

“You don’t remember?” Danny asked, really not that surprised. He just chuckled. “Well, I honestly don’t know where you went halfway through the party but suddenly you were back and even drunker than before. Let’s just say, I took you home before you could do anything terribly embarrassing. You’re welcome”, he explained, getting up again to go to the kitchen.

Images came flooding back to Julian, one image in particular. Tom. Fuck. Fuck, fuck. He hadn’t, had he? Jesus Christ, he had. “Fuck”, he said aloud, shaking his head and standing. He ignored the pain in his joints and joined Danny in the kitchen. “Can you drive me home?” Danny nodded and they left. 

Julian had a hard time concentrating on anything other than his memory of kissing Tom. Even when he got home and hopped in the shower to clear his head. What in God’s name had he been thinking? How…why… he banged his head against the shower wall. He remembered Tom had pulled away. But, when he thought harder, he doesn’t remember Tom pulling away immediately. It didn’t matter, though, did it? How was he supposed to face him when he got back? He dried himself off and checked his phone. No calls from Tom, obviously. He would just have to…pretend it never happened. He’s sure that’s what Tom would do, right? Not bring it up or anything.

That last week of practice went by pretty seamlessly, and then the day came. Of Brady’s return. During practice, he had let all of his frustration and unresolved feelings out on the field and played his greatest since Brady had been gone. But then he would get home and lay in bed at night, his mind swarming and unable to sleep. He threw himself into workouts and extra time at practice. Tom would be proud of him. He wanted to hit himself for that thought. He got absolutely no sleep the night before Tom came back. He woke up and had two cups of coffee, preparing himself for whatever may or may not come. He almost sped to practice, but when he finally pulled in, his nerves felt fried. He couldn’t get out of the car. He froze in his seat when he recognized Tom’s car.

Okay, get your head out of your ass, Julian, he thought to himself. He made his hands stop shaking and got out of the car, putting on a seemingly relaxed face. He went to change in the locker room, where Brady was not to be found. He heard other players chatting away excitedly at his return, and that he was talking to Coach out in the field, already ready. Of course, always the first to arrive. Julian smiled a little at that, but then started freaking out again. It’s gonna be okay. He let himself be distracted by the jokes and laughter of his teammates and managed to be the last one out of the locker room. He took a deep breath before running out onto the field, his helmet hopefully masking his turmoil. Everybody cheered when Belichick finally stopped talking to Brady, and Julian’s heart almost lurched out of his body when he saw Brady. Fuck, he looked good. And he was back in uniform, the way he should be. He was regretting all the coffee he had consumed because his heart was racing like crazy. It was just the coffee, right? Everyone went up to welcome Brady, whose eyes were searching the crowd. Edelman sure hoped he wasn’t looking for him. But it made his heart flutter a little more if he was looking for him. Damn it. 

“Jules”, Gronk called him over when everyone had finally given Brady room to breathe and went out to the field. Julian had tried to get lost in the crowd, but he knew that would probably look…suspicious. Act normal, he reminded himself as he casually walked over. Ground and Amendola were the only ones surrounding him when Edelman reached them. All their helmets were off, so he felt the need to pull his off. He hoped his face wouldn’t reveal anymore than it was supposed to. Tom smiled when he saw Julian, and pulled him in for a hug. Julian hugged him back and didn’t want to pull away. Oops. He made himself pull away and gave Tom a shy smile back.

“Hey”, Tom finally spoke in a soft tone.

Julian swallowed nervously before repeating him: “Hey”. Coach yelled over at them, gesturing to get out onto the field.

“You guys are so weird”, was all Gronk said before laughing and pulling Danny away with him onto the field. Julian and Tom stared at each other for an awkward second, before Julian had to look away. It looked like Tom was about to say something, when Coach yelled, “You guys too!” Julian breathed a small sigh of relief before putting his helmet on and running off to join the others, Tom trailing behind him. Deja vu much. It felt like he was running away from him again, away from his stupid feelings.

They all played well that day. Julian tried to convince himself he wasn’t trying to impress Tom when he made another touchdown. Aside from all the awkwardness, he really did miss playing with his number one QB. Even Coach looked impressed. Luckily, him and Tom didn’t really have time to talk. At least not in words. On the field, it was different. They spoke a different kind of language, and it had nothing to do with the outside world and what had gone down between them. It was all focused on the game even if it was just practice. They were in sync in a heartbeat out there, and everyone knew it. They always were. The break Tom had didn’t seem to affect their connection.

When they were done, Coach pulled him aside. “Why couldn’t you play like that in the last game?” Julian had no answer, at least no logical one. Coach gave him a slap on the shoulder, a tiny smile on his face. One of those rare Bill smiles. The media wasn’t kidding, that guy literally only smiled once every 6 months or something. “Just play like that Tuesday, and we’ll be fine”, he said, before looking back down at his clipboard. Julian just walked off, a little confused and a little proud.   
He made his way back into the locker room, where everyone was asking Brady about his “vacation” and catching him up on what he had missed. Edelman managed to slide by undetected, or at least he thought. He was quick in getting out of there, unlike everyone else. Not quick enough. He was making his way to his car when someone caught up to him and grabbed his arm. He turned around and was faced with the startling color of Tom’s eyes. Jeez, now he couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty his eyes were. “Why do you keep running off on me?” Tom asked, half serious, but with a smile on his face. Julian kind of just stared at him, in awe. “You played great”, Tom added after a minute of silence.

“Thanks”, Julian blushed a little, feeling like a lovestruck idiot. “So about-“, he started off, but didn’t know what was going to come out of his mouth. An apology, an explanation? Before he could say anything, though, Amendola and Rob were gallivanting towards them. God, did they have bad timing. Or maybe it was good? Because hadn’t Julian promised himself he would try and forget about what happened and never mention it to Tom ever ever? Because he probably didn’t feel the same way…not that Julian felt any particular way- it was just… His thoughts were broken by Rob’s voice.

“We interrupting something?” Danny asked, raising his eyebrows. Tom just rolled his eyes, reminding Danny a little bit of Julian.

“Alright, let’s go celebrate the mighty Brady’s return” Rob spoke up, dragging them all with him. Uh oh. This was not what Julian had in mind. Before anyone could really protest (mostly Julian) Rob got them to all pile in his car and was headed for his favorite bar: The Greatest Bar (real title, look it up). They arrived and were instantly flooded. The bartender, who knew them pretty well by now, got the fans to back off and they managed to make it to a booth. “Aw, they missed you”, Gronk pushed against Brady lightly, before sitting down next to Amendola. Leaving Julian next to Brady. He had never noticed before how close they sat, did they always sit like this? Or was he just overanalyzing everything? He was going to move away, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to, anyways. 

After Julian got some alcohol in him, he was able to calm down and just relax, and enjoying the conversation around him with his teammates. He was so lost in conversation with Brady at one point, he even forgot about all that sexual tension and leaned in even closer when telling him something. It wasn’t a secret, but he whispered in Brady’s ear. He started laughing at whatever he had said, now he couldn’t even remember and Brady shook his head and smiled at him. He was already too far gone. He should probably slow down his drinking at some point. The drinks kept coming and if anyone said anything, he’d just point to Gronk who was way drunker than him. 

He convinced them all to play pool, and made Tom be on his team. They were doing pretty well in the game, despite Julian’s stumbling. It didn’t take very long for Tom to beat Danny and Gronk, without much help from poor drunk Julian. Danny and Rob both shook their head in defeat and stormed off dramatically. Julian and Tom cracked up and high fived each other. “Duude, you were awesome. As usual”, Julian told him, the words just falling out.

Tom smiled sweetly at him. “I missed you, Jules”, he said, before putting an arm around his favorite wide receiver. Julian gave him a big grin, reminding Tom of a puppy. A very…cute puppy. Tom shook his head, clearing his slightly drunk thoughts. “I need some air”, Tom suddenly said, but he pulled Julian with him and went out through the back door. Julian was a little shaky on his feet, but Tom kept him steady. He shut the door and they were met with the fresh air outside. Julian sighed in the nice air and leaned back against the wall.

“S-so-“ , he started, somehow already slurring that one word. Before Julian could say anything, Tom swept in and stole Julian’s move from last time. He shoved himself up against Julian and pressed his lips against his in a ferocious, animalistic manner. Like he’d been waiting far too long for this. Julian was taken aback, but soon he was kissing back. He grabbed at Tom’s hair and raised himself on his tippy toes so Tom wouldn’t have to lean down as much to kiss him due to their height difference. Tom appreciated the effort, but he just lifted Julian up against the wall like he weighed nothing, without breaking the kiss.

Tom grabbed at Julian’s arms and his neck and anywhere he could reach. Julian broke the kiss to bite down on Tom’s neck, and trying to get Tom even closer to him, which wasn’t physically possible. Soon, their lips were crashing back together again. Eventually, they had to pull away for air. It was quiet all around them except for their heavy breathing. They stared at each other after the kiss, both unsure of what to do or say now. Brady’s phone buzzed, breaking the moment. He looked down at his pocket awkwardly, not sure what to do. Julian’s throat was dry when he finally spoke: “You can answer it”.

Tom managed to not have to step away from Julian as he grabbed his phone. He didn’t look very pleased at the call. “Wow, that’s…a lot of texts. It’s Gronk. Wondering where the hell we are”, Tom cleared his throat, putting his phone away. How long had they been out here? Before either could say anything, they heard the door rattle. Tom was off Julian in a second. It was one of their other teammates, Butler. When had he gotten here? He was on his phone when he looked up and saw them. “Oh, hey guys. Sorry, I can go somewhere else”, he said, telling the person on the phone to hold on.

Tom gave him a small smile and shrugged. “It’s fine, Gronk really wants us back in there. You know how he is”, Tom gave Malcolm a pat on the shoulder and Julian followed Tom back in the bar, not saying anything. The bar was even more crowded when they came back in and they could hardly hear anything. Bad time to talk, Edelman guessed. Thank God. When the crowd got really big, Julian felt a hand grab his arm and pull him through the crowd. Tom, like always. Not letting him fall behind. He seemed to like grabbing Julian whenever he wanted lately. 

They finally managed to find Danny and Gronk, who were now with a few different people. “Where’d you two disappear off to?!” Gronk exclaimed, too drunk for his own good like always. Julian could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, but luckily only Tom seemed to notice. He thought it was quite adorable. 

“Jeez, you’re so nosy, Rob, we just had to escape your drunken ramblings”, Tom spoke up before anyone could say anything else. Rob just laughed it off, shaking his head. Tom gave Julian a quick smile before someone pulled him off into a conversation he didn’t want to be a part of. He looked back at Julian one last time, who looked a little lost without him there. Then someone handed him another drink. Oh god.


End file.
